Seedance gains ground in Hollywood despite deepfake backlash

ByteDance’s video generation tool Seedance is gaining traction in Hollywood, despite an earlier scandal over a viral deepfake clip. Nilesh Christopher reports for the Los Angeles Times that the Chinese tech giant, best known as the former majority owner of TikTok, has been quietly courting American filmmakers and executives.

Earlier this year, a 15-second AI-generated video showing Brad Pitt fighting Tom Cruise sparked outrage across the industry. The Motion Picture Association demanded ByteDance halt what it called “infringing activity.” Since then, the company has expanded its US presence anyway: it launched Seedance at an event in Santa Monica, opened 100 new job positions, and hosted a lavish party at the Cannes Film Festival.

Animation producer Joel Kuwahara describes the industry’s attitude as “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Many studios have not formally approved Seedance, he says, but tolerate its use behind the scenes.

Seedance’s appeal lies in price and realism. According to Artificial Analysis, the tool costs $9 per minute of video with audio, compared to $24 for Google’s Veo. Independent filmmakers such as Rupert Wainwright and Jason Zada already use it for hybrid productions that combine traditional shooting with AI-generated scenes.

Not everyone believes Seedance can break into mainstream studio work. Luma chief executive Amit Jain argues that geopolitical and intellectual property risks make Chinese models unsuitable for major franchise films. “Can you imagine Disney using the ByteDance model for the next ‘Snow White’?” he asks.